Magnus Carlsen beat his own record to win the Tata Steel Chess India

Magnus Carlsen beat his own record to win the Tata Steel Chess India title with 27 points, four points clear of second-placed Hikaru Nakamura. It wasn’t quite as easy as it sounds, since the World Champion described the start, when he was suffering from a stomach bug, as “pretty brutal”. It was also a brutal day for Vishy Anand, who lost the battle to qualify for London after blundering against Vidit and losing on time in a better position against Anish Giri. It’s MVL who will now join Magnus, Ding Liren and Levon Aronian in the $350,000 Grand Chess Tour finals next week.

On the surface this was just Magnus doing Magnus things. His +2 score on the final day was enough to set a new record for a Grand Chess Tour rapid and blitz event of 27 points out of a possible 36: